20220512_Sabres_Worlds

The Sabres will be well represented at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, which begins Friday, May 13 in Finland and runs through Sunday, May 29.
Buffalo will have four players participating in the tournament: forwards Rasmus Asplund (Sweden), Dylan Cozens (Canada), and John Hayden (United States) along with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (Sweden).
UPDATE (May 12) - Henri Jokiharju, who was originally set to play for Finland, will not participate due to COVID-19, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced.
Sabres coach Don Granato is also participating as an assistant coach on David Quinn's staff with Team USA. Granato previously won a bronze medal on Team USA's coaching staff in 2018.
Below is the complete schedule for all games involving Sabres players (all times eastern). This post will be updated with results throughout the tournament.

#

Friday, May 13

United States 4 - Latvia 1
Hayden led U.S. forwards with 18:30 of ice time in the tournament-opening victory. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones paced the Americans with a goal and an assist.
Canada 5 - Germany 3
Cozens tallied two shots and had a plus-1 rating in 17:36, though that might not do his game justice. He nearly earned an assist on this pass to Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicholas Roy:

He helped pressure Germany into the turnover that led to a goal for linemate Pierre-Luc Dubois:

Finally, he initiated the sequence that led to another goal for Dubois on the power play:

Saturday, May 14

Sweden 3 - Austria 1
Asplund skated a team-high 25:01 and was credited with three shots in the win for Sweden. Dahlin skated 20:55 and nearly completed a highlight-reel drive to the net:

Sunday, May 15

Canada 6 - Italy 1
Cozens tallied three shots and had a plus-1 rating in 14:00. Josh Anderson and Dysin Mayo led Canada with a goal and an assist each.
United States 3 - Austria 2 (OT)
New Jersey Devils prospect Luke Hughes scored the overtime winner for Team USA, which held a 39-16 shot advantage. Hayden tallied two shots in 16:49.
Sweden 5 - Czechia 3
Asplund scored two goals to pace Sweden to the victory while once again leading the team with 23:58 of ice time.
Asplund planted himself in front of the opposing net and cashed in on a rebound for his first goal, which erased a 1-0 deficit during the opening period:

He scored his second goal on a breakaway, giving the Swedes a 4-1 cushion during the second period:
Tweet from @swehockeygifs: Rasmus Asplund 🚨 Erik Gustafsson 🍏#IIHFWorlds πŸŽ₯ Viaplay pic.twitter.com/9JSQLmf0nC
"I just try to do my job out there," Asplund said afterward, according to IIHF.com. "I want to be a hard-working guy and today I scored twice but that's not what matters. We want the three points every game and now we're going to focus on the next one."
Dahlin skated 22:50 for the Swedes.

Monday, May 16

Canada 5 - Slovakia 1
Cozens tallied a pair of assists for his first points of the tournament as Canada remained undefeated through three games in the preliminary round.
Here's Cozens' first assist, in which he wins a battle in the corner and sends the puck to Pierre Luc-Dubois, whose shot goes in off a defender:

Cozens later sent Morgan Geekie on a breakaway to make it 5-1 in the third period:

Cozens also tallied five shots and had a plus-2 rating in 14:09.
Finland 4 - United States 1
Hayden tallied three shots in 12:37 in Team USA's first loss of the tournament. Alex Galchenyuk scored the lone goal for the United States.

Tuesday, May 17

Sweden 6 - Great Britain 0
Asplund turned in his second straight multi-goal outing for the Swedes, placing him in a tie for the tournament lead with four goals in three contests.
Dahlin assisted on both Asplund goals in addition to scoring one of his own. He skated a team-high 23:47.
Asplund opened the scoring just 13 seconds into the contest, burying a loose puck in front after Dahlin sent the puck from the point:

Asplund's second goal also came near the crease:

Dahlin's goal came on a shot from the point that deflected off a stick on its way to the net:

Sweden is tied with rival Finland atop the Group B standings with a head-to-head meeting set for Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 18

Sweden 3 - Finland 2 (SO)
Emil Bemstrom scored the deciding goal in the shootout against rival Finland, vaulting Sweden to the top of the Group B standings with its fourth victory.
Dahlin tallied an assist on Adam Larsson's opening goal for his fourth point (1+3) of the tournament. Asplund led Swedish forwards with 20:18 of ice time.

Thursday, May 19

Canada 6 - Kazakhstan 3
Cozens scored a hat trick to lead Canada to its fourth win in as many games. He ranks third on Team Canada with five points (3+2).
Watch all three goals below:

United States 3 - Great Britain 0
Hayden skated 11:48 and tallied two shots. Kieffer Bellows scored twice for the United States while Jeremy Swayman made 17 saves for the shutout.

Saturday, May 21

United States 3 - Sweden 2 (OT)
Hayden skated 10:36 in the victory for Team USA, which ended Sweden's undefeated start to the tournament. Adam Gaudette scored the winning goal in overtime.
Dahlin scored the opening goal for Sweden, cutting behind the United States defense and burying a feed in front:

Dahlin is tied for the team lead with five points (2+3) after five games.
Asplund once again led Swedish forwards in ice time (21:48) and tallied four shots.
Switzerland 6 - Canada 3
Cozens skated 17:30 and tallied one shot in Canada's first loss of the tournament. The result propelled Switzerland ahead of Canada for the top spot in the Group A standings with two games remaining for both teams in the preliminary round.

Sunday, May 22

Sweden 7 - Norway 1
Asplund had his third two-goal performance of the tournament to pace Sweden to a blowout win in its penultimate game of the preliminary round.
Asplund has sole possession of the tournament lead with six goals through six games. Watch his two goals on Sunday below:

Dahlin skated 21:32 and tallied an assist in the victory.

Monday, May 23

Czechia 1 - United States 0
Hayden skated 9:19 and tallied two shots in the loss. Czechia goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 24 saves for the shutout.
Denmark 3 - Canada 2
Cozens skated 19:52 and tallied two shots with a plus-1 rating. Canada will try to clinch the third seed in Group A in its preliminary-round finale against France on Tuesday.

Tuesday, May 24

Sweden 1 - Latvia 0
Sweden clinched the No. 2 seed in the Group B standings with the victory, its sixth in seven contests.
Asplund screened the Latvia goaltender on Sweden's lone goal, scored by Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander:

Asplund concludes the preliminary round with a tournament-high six goals. Dahlin is tied for the Swedish lead and third among tournament defensemen with six points (2+5).
"We've been having a good run here and today was a huge win for us," said Dahlin told IIHF.com. "We just want to build on this and we're looking forward to the playoffs."
Sweden will play Canada, the third seed in Group B, in the single-elimination quarterfinal round on Thursday.
United States 4 - Norway 2
Hayden skated 13:20 in the victory. The United States finishes the preliminary round as the fourth seed in Group B, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Group A top seed Switzerland on Thursday.
Canada 7 - France 1
Cozens opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the tournament and added a pair of assists on goals scored by linemate Pierre Luc-Dubois.

Cozens concludes the preliminary round with eight points (4+4), tied for third on Canada and eighth among all players.

Thursday, May 26 - Quarterfinals

Canada 4 - Sweden 3 (OT)
Canada erased a 3-0 deficit during the third period and won on a goal from Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson scored 43 seconds into overtime.
Cozens tallied an assist on Canada's second goal, scored by Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre Luc-Dubois, for his ninth point of the tournament.
Asplund finishes the tournament with six goals - second to Dubois (7) among all participating players. Dahlin led Sweden and tied for third among tournament defensemen with seven points.
Canada will play Czechia in the semifinal round on Saturday.
United States 3 - Switzerland 0
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremey Swayman made 33 saves to shut out previously undefeated Switzerland and send the United States to a semifinal matchup with Finland.
Hayden skated 6:52 and tallied four shots.

Saturday, May 28 - Semifinals

Finland 4 - United States 3
Ottawa Senators forward Adam Gaudette scored with 2:51 remaining to bring the United States within one, but the comeback effort fell short in a semifinal loss to Finland.
Hayden skated 6:35 in the loss.
The U.S. will play Czechia for the bronze medal at 8:20 a.m. on Sunday. Granato will be seeking his second World Championship medal, having previously won bronze as an assistant coach in 2018.
Canada 6 - Czechia 1
Cozens had two goals and an assist to pace Canada to the victory, setting up a gold-medal rematch with Finland at 1:20 p.m. on Sunday.
Cozens has 12 points (6+6) in nine games, tied for fourth in the tournament, and leads all players with a plus-11 rating. He has been selected as one of Canada's top three players for the tournament alongside linemate Pierre Luc-Dubois and defenseman Ryan Graves.
Cozens bookended the scoring for Canada, beginning when he buried his own rebound to erase a 1-0 deficit during the first period:

He stole the puck in the slot and buried a backhand shot for Canada's final goal of the contest:

Canada will play Finland for the gold medal for a third consecutive tournament. Finland won the matchup in 2019 while Canada won in 2021. (The tournament was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19.)
Sunday, May 29 - Medal Round
Bronze Medal Game: Czechia 8 - United States 4
Czechia scored six third-period goals, including a hat trick by Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, to erase a 3-2 deficit and capture the bronze medal.
Hayden skated 6:13 and tallied an assist in the loss.
Gold Medal Game: Finland 3 - Canada 2 (OT)
Sakari Manninen scored the winning goal on a power play 6:42 into overtime to capture Finland's second gold medal in the past three tournaments.
Cozens opened the scoring for Canada with a power-play goal during the first period:

Cozens finishes his silver-medal run tied for the tournament lead with seven goals. His plus-12 rating led all players while his 13 points tied for third.